Jan Sochor Photography

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Carnival of Forgiveness

Natives of the Kamentsá and Inga tribes, wearing colorful headgears, take part in the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

Natives from the Kamentsá tribe play drums and wind instruments during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A shaman from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful feather headgear, plays horn trumpet during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A shaman from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful feather headgear, plays horn trumpet during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

Native women from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing colorful costumes, take part in the procession during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A Colombian Kamentsá native, wearing a colorful feather headgear, takes part in the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A native woman from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful costume, plays harmonica during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A native from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful feather headgear, plays drum during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

Natives from the Kamentsá tribe participate in the Catholic mass during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A native from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful headgear, plays flute during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A native from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful feather headgear, participates in the Catholic mass during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A native from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful feather headgear, takes part in the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

A child from the Kamentsá tribe, wearing a colorful costume, plays drum during the Carnival of Forgiveness, a traditional indigenous celebration in Sibundoy, Colombia.

Carnival of Forgiveness

Sibundoy, Colombia – February 2013

Clestrinye (“Carnaval del Perdón”) is an ancient celebration kept for centuries in the Valley of Sibundoy in Putumayo (the Amazonian department of Colombia), a home to two closely allied indigenous groups, the Inga and Kamentsá. The annual carnival extends over several days with Tuesday (before Ash Wednesday) as a day of the public procession when Indians from the whole area gather and parade from the countryside to the center of the Sibundoy town. Reaching the plaza, they enter the church for the festive Mass and dance, eat and drink in the cabildo (the tribal council office) afterwards, till the morning next day. Although the ritual has indigenous origins, the Catholic religion elements (carrying the Saint Mary statues) have been introduced and merged with the shamanistic tradition (with the Yagé ritual at the center). Celebrating the collaboration, peace and unity between tribes, the Inga and Kamentsá people believe that anyone who offended anyone may ask for forgiveness this day and all of them should grant pardons.